Thursday, December 11, 2008

T-bill yield dropped to zero

According to the Treasury's data, the government sold 47.2% of the four-week T-bill deal Tuesday to investors that put their hands in for a stake through a broker-dealer, which points to higher-than-average buying from central banks and institutional clients such as pension funds. According to the data, the bulk of rest was likely purchased by money-market funds, banks and a few others.
Many investors don't have a choice, bound by law or contract to hold Treasurys of a certain duration, no matter the cost. According to one market participant, some dealers in what is known as the "repo market," where people borrow cash for short periods using Treasury bonds as collateral, have been forced to buy Treasurys to settle those arrangements.